Soda Can Cameras

Need something to do with your soda cans after finishing your drink?  Make a camera!

Sugar Plum Soda

I opened this in my classroom recently:

Brand: Sugar Plum Soda.

Origin: Mukilteo, WA.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This is like a grown-up grape soda. It's not overly syrupy or sweet, and it has a little more depth to it. The flavor is a bit plum-like, but it's similar to grape. Unique, but not strange. Not a bad soda to be sipping during class.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Mr. Newport Lemon-Lime

I opened this over the weekend:

A very formal label.

Brand: Mr. Newport Lemon-Lime.

Origin: Chicago, IL.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: There wasn't anything too special about this. It was generically OK. Just another nice lemon-lime with maybe a BIT too much of a slightly weird aftertaste.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Rosa's Arroz con Leche Sweet Rice Soda

Well, I still haven't cracked into the case I picked up last weekend at Minnesota's Largest Candy Store. But this morning, I grabbed this "interesting" sounding soda to bring to work with me:

Brand: Rosa's Arroz con Leche Sweet Rice Soda.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I'll admit this was odd. The first sip was hard to get through because it tasted (and smelled) like drinking leftover water in the pan after making rice. That was strange! But once I got over that thought, I realized it actually tasted pretty good. Quite sweet. Like the sweetest liquid white rice you can imagine. It's not as milky/sweet as rice pudding, but THAT would be odd in a soda. This wasn't bad - not as bad as I thought it could have been. I'll give it an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Family Trip to Minnesota's Largest Candy Store

My boys and I stopped by "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store" yesterday.

My boys out front when we got there at 9 a.m.

It was DEAD inside right as it opened!  I love that.

My boys and their cousins by the Iron Man Hulkbuster suit!

Hulk and lots of taffy!

Pumpkin and pumpkin pie sodas.

Wheeling around my case of assorted sodas in my mini cart.

A panorama of the store as we took off.

Hanging out with some family a few miles farther south at the Scarecrow Festival at Emma Krumbees.

So I have a new case of soda to start on!  I have a few more left from Blue Sun Soda Shop (actually, nearly a case), so I think I'm stocked up for the winter.

Sioux City Ginger Beer

I opened this in my office between classes today:

The odd thing is that the label contained hardly any more info than what's pictured above: just a barcode to the left (barely visible near the bottom of the label in that pic), and which states you can get a refund for the bottle on the right. No other info. Strange. So I got the rest of the info from Beverages Direct.


Brand: Sioux City Ginger Beer.

Origin: Whitestone, NY.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was pretty decent (and this coming from someone who doesn't care for ginger things). It had a good, natural bite of ginger (the kind that nearly stings the back of your throat), but then it almost finished smooth. That combo I like (a bite, but then smooth), so this was better than I figured it would be. It was like a ginger ale mixed with a slightly "thin" cola (but not in a bad way). If you are a ginger fan, check this out.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Hosmer Mountain Beverages Diet Root Beer

I opened this just before class this afternoon:

Brand: Hosmer Mountain Beverages Diet Root Beer.

Origin: Willimantic, CT.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Fructose and Aspartame.

Review: This wasn't that great. First of all, it had that "thin" flavor that many diet sodas have. Secondly, it had a burnt caramel flavor to it that was not appealing at all. Luckily, that flavor wasn't too bad because it didn't have much flavor. This was not very drinkable and well below average.

Score: 2.5 out of 10.

Route 66 Cream Soda

In my office yesterday, I opened this between classes:

Brand: Route 66 Cream Soda.

Origin: Chicago, IL.

Purchase Place: Lunds Grocery Store, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Real Cane Sugar.

Review: This was nice and smooth the way a cream soda should be. There's nothing incredibly unique about this, but it's a solid/decent cream soda. It has a BIT of a sharper flavor at the end of each sip which is SLIGHTLY different, but otherwise, just a normal cream soda. I'll rank this just above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.